Claude Monet was born in Paris on the 14th November, 1840. When he was five years old, he moved to the port town of Le Havre. For much of his childhood, Monet was considered by both his teachers and his parents to be undisciplined and, therefore, unlike ly to make a success of his life. Enforcing this impression, Monet showed no interest in inheriting his father's wholesale grocery. The only subject which seemed to spark any interest in the child was painting. He developed a decent reputation in school for the caricatures he was fond of creating. By the age of fifteen, he was receiving commission for his work. It was at Le Havre that Monet met the painter Eugene Boudin. While Boudin's own paintings have never been held in that high regard, he is seen as having played a critical role in the education of Monet. Born of a seafaring family in 1824, Boudin was obsessed with the idea of painting outdoors or en plein air . The two painters met in 1856 and, at first, Monet resisted Boudin's offer of tuition but he eventually relaxed his protestations and before long, the two had forged a relationship that was to last a lifetime. Although Monet soon left Le Havre to spend a large part of his life traveling throughout Europe, he returned frequently to visit his old friend. The interest that had been sparked some years earlier was refined and shaped and Monet was in no doubt as to the extent to which his outlook on life had been altered: My eyes were finally opened and I understood nature; I learned at the same time to love it. Boudin may have opened Monet's eyes, he may have even convinced the young painter to break with tradition and finish his paintings outdoors, but the young protg had yet to truly experience the country's capital. Before long, the limitations of L e Havre on a burgeoning young artist became all to apparent and, in 1859, Monet left for Paris. However, having displaced himself to the heart of Europe's art-world, Monet soon f...
